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Speeding up your creative workflow in Pro Tools

DAWs come with all sorts of features that are made to enhance and quicken your workflow. But, sometimes, these great new features are also the issues that slow your creativity.

These are 5 ways to help speed up you time management:

Session Presets

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You should always take the time to create multiple session presets as starting points for your recording/mixing sessions. Whether it is a basic 2-channel vocal and virtual instrument preset or a more involved 24-channel 5-piece band recording session, having these presets available when you open up a new session saves a lot of setup and labeling time for future projects.

Configure I/O Settings

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Configuring the inputs and outputs of your audio interface is an essential step in making sure your DAW and hardware are working together and efficiently. You should label your inputs, outputs and busses so you’re not wasting time chasing cable runs to see where they are connected or creating multiple reverb sends.

Instrument Presets

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Virtual instrument presets are a bit taboo in this industry, especially when you’re talking about the pre-packaged presets that come with your VI’s. Creating your own folder with the preset sounds and effects can put you one step ahead of the game and your creative process.

Organize & Label Loops and Samples

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When working with sample based music spend some time organizing your loop and sample library. Efficiency is key. You don’t want to spend hours looking through unlabeled files trying to find that sample you stumbled upon last week that would be perfect for the track you are currently working on.

Turn off distractions

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Your phone, email, voice mail social networks, etc. can all be huge distractions during the creative process. SHUT THEM OFF! Turn off your phone, close your email, and turn off your social network notifications so you don’t keep getting interrupted, reminded and beeped during your artistic development. This tip applies to being successful in general, not just for speeding up Pro Tools workflows.